George Fox ranked among best schools in the nation by Washington Monthly

Higher ed  National publication ranks school among best providers of higher education for cost

A recent ranking by the national magazine Washington Monthly listed Newbergs George Fox University as one of the best colleges and universities in the nation in proportion to its cost and level of education.

The Best Bang for the Buck ranking listed colleges that did the best job of providing a high level of education to less-privileged students.

Of the 1,572 schools reviewed by the publication, George Fox was one of 349 colleges listed as having the best-bang-for-the-buck and placed 261.

In order to be listed each institution had to meet four criteria which insured the school did not cater solely to the affluent, graduated a majority of its students, provided graduates with an education that allowed them to cover their student loan obligations, and met or exceeded the number of students that would statistically graduate from the school given the number of lower-income students.

George Fox exceeded in all of the requirements.

The rankings required that at least 20 percent of a schools students receive federal Pell Grants, which are generally awarded to students who have a household income of less than $50,000. Of the more than 3,700 students who attend the school, more than one-third received Pell Grants.

The university far exceeded requirements that the student loan default rate be 10 percent or less and the school have a graduation rate of 50 percent or more. Three percent of the schools students default on their students loans and 62 percent graduate with a degree.

The rankings were also based on the net price of tuition that is the average price paid by a first-time, full-time student from a family with an annual income of $75,000 or less. At George Fox the net price is $18,995 per year after subtracting the amount of need-based financial aid received.